


Predictions and Presumptions

by FlashDriver



Category: Sonic the Hedgehog - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Hijinks & Shenanigans, fankids meet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-15
Updated: 2020-01-15
Packaged: 2021-02-27 03:17:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,820
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22270129
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlashDriver/pseuds/FlashDriver
Summary: When Silver and Blaze's daughter Heather is left to guard the Sol emeralds, a bizarre spike in their energy seems to proceed a bizarre dimensional change. When she awakens the next morning only to find her parents have a second child, one older than her no less, the strangeness of the situation leads to all manner of mischief. Who is this Karma, why is she here, how did she get here and what does her appearance mean for Heather's future?Heather the cat belongs to me, Karma the cat belongs to Rellyia!
Relationships: Blaze the Cat/Silver the Hedgehog
Kudos: 5





	Predictions and Presumptions

Sat cross legged at the heart of the palace treasure room, eyes trained on a set of seven multicoloured crystals that were slowly orbiting her body, was one Heather the cat. Her parents, Blaze the cat (queen of the Sol dimension) and Silver the hedgehog (the time traveller who the aforementioned queen had, somehow, fallen for), were presently away from the island. They were using their powers to aid in the repair of a settlement following a storm; many older buildings and homes had been damaged; it was the kind of simple work that their abilities were now mostly used for. 

Usually, her mother would simply take the Sol emeralds with her wherever she went; not for use or even so much as safety, essentially just because she could. Last night though, over dinner, the younger feline had so humbly requested, and not at all pleaded, that she could stay and look after the mystic stones. After some debate, her parents more worried about leaving her in the house alone than letting her look after the emeralds, they’d agreed to let the fifteen year old stay in the palace for the next two days as the repairs were made; reminding her that the elder Gardon was only a call away if she got bored or had any trouble.

As responsibilities went, this was a rather minor one. The Sol emeralds hadn’t been threatened since before she was born, but, regardless of the task’s worth, this was an opportunity to prove herself. If she could manage this then they would surely throw more tasks her way; she’d get to prove her worth to her mother and, almost as importantly, show dad that she wasn’t a kid anymore. Despite how foolish Heather knew the thought was, the young feline almost wanted someone to finally come for the emeralds; that way, she’d get to fully prove how responsible she was. If she successfully warded off the first attack on the emeralds then it’d be undeniable, he’d have to give her more tasks and treat her like an adult! It’d be wonderful, perfect even!

Just as delusions began to overtake her, Heather rather quickly caught herself. While she’d been daydreaming, her eyes had drifted from the seven shining stones. Her phone had vibrated no fewer than eighteen times, but she hadn’t allowed that to distract her; the feline’s mind was her own worst enemy, she knew that her own want of responsibility and delusions of grandeur were the most immature part of herself, but they were just so easy to fall into… especially when she’d been sitting in one spot for what felt like days. 

Her parents hadn’t told her to do that of course, if anything they had stressed the opposite, but pride wouldn’t let her budge. She’d go hungry before abandoning the emeralds, she’d sooner stay up all night than dare to break her watch by sleeping. Well, the latter probably wasn’t going to be a problem, as they were set to be home by five, but she was still taking this opportunity more than seriously. Rather than leave the stones in their wall mount, she had allowed them to hover free and around the small chamber; eventually they’d come to orbit her in a very consistent pattern.

It was the guardian’s job to not only defend the gemstones, but to harness and control them. Her mother was capable of all kinds of both minor and major feats involving their magic; from simple things like hiding them within her body and calling them free with a swish of the hand to generating portals and great spouts of flame. On and off throughout this day, Heather had been attempting the most minor of those feats; to call an unsecured emerald through the air and into her palm with no more than a thought.

She’d started by attempting to call the grey emerald but, truth be told, it’d reminded her too much of her father. Every time she’d gone to call the stone, she could practically hear her cheering and positive reinforcement. As such, she’d rather quickly turned her attention to the purple stone; after all, she was doing this to and bolster her mother’s faith in her capabilities.

The youth’s attunement to the emerald wasn’t as strong as her mother’s yet, transformation was a pipe dream at best, but something as simple as this seemed as though it should be doable. Yes, she could have pulled them towards her from a room away with the use of her powers but that wasn’t the same. Anyone could snatch the rocks, albeit perhaps not through the use of psychokinesis, but to move the emeralds with one’s will alone was entirely different. It was proof of one’s connection to the stones, a sign that their will and that of the guardians were one and the same.

Heather ground her teeth, once again turning all of her focus on the purple emerald as it drifted from behind her and into view. Though her demands had started gentle, she was now mentally shouting at the relic; “Come to me! Fly to me! Come to your guardian! Present yourself Come hither!”

Once again, the Sol emerald drifted beyond the left side of her vision. From deep within her jacket pocket, Heather’s phone sounded again; the pulsing shockwave caught her off guard and further soured her expression. She shifted to kneeling, her hands palms pressed into her thighs and she heaved a deep breath. It hadn’t even moved this time, it hadn’t so much as paused; it was almost as if the relics were intentionally ignoring her, deeming her unworthy. That self-depreciative thought was all the fuel she needed to keep trying, she felt her the symbols on her hands begin to heat as her aggravation grew and her small nose began to wrinkle. Every time the stone passed by, she could feel more veins popping on her forehead and the tenseness in her jaw growing stronger. 

These feelings were so strong, so distracting, that it took her to realise; not only was the purple stone not stopping, it, and the seven others orbiting her, had picked up the pace. Her target emerald was entering and leaving her vision at a faster and faster pace, doing the very opposite of what she demanded. They weren’t just ignoring her; they were actively taunting her. Whatever spiritual consciousness the stones had was actively rebelling against her, choosing not to heed her word.

“Stop it,” This was the first time she’d tried speaking to the stones. 

It had an effect but, again, it went against her wishes; the gems were speeding up further, beginning to whistle as they whipped around her.

“Halt, I command you!” She was trying to take on her mother’s voice, that of the queen.

Once again, the crystals did not abide her. This was all beginning to dizzy her; she would not dare to leave the emeralds, especially not in their current state. Even if she didn’t know how to stop them, today it was her job to protect and tend them. That meant protecting them from themselves.

Before Heather could fully rise, motion blur had started to trail the emeralds, their colours had begun to blur into one. Spitting sparks shot off in all directions, pinwheeling flakes of orange, yellow and red light that either danced into the air or bounced off of the ground. She threw her right hand at the barrier, attempting to catch and force one of the emeralds free and disrupt this chaos only for her power to leave no mark. She knew she’d loosed a psychic push, she tried and tried and tried to unleash more, but they seemed to have no effect. What had once been sparks became flames that fully engulfed the accelerating band and fully repelled her power! She dug in her heels and clapped her hands together like she was trying to crush some wayward fly but again there was no response! They just kept spinning!

“Stop it now! This instant!” Again, her pleads were not heeded.

Terrified and confused in equal measure, with no idea what else to do, Heather coated her arms with her green aura; making them hard and stiff enough that she couldn’t move them. She knew that this next endeavour was foolish, but she didn’t want to disappoint her parents. She stepped forward to try and break the band directly, but the Sol emeralds reacted to her movement. The flames that had engulfed the stone suddenly leapt to block the entirety of her vision; effectively enclosing both above and below her. Then, taking no more than a second to reach her, the fire encroached inward. 

First to go was her vision, her eyes closed as a white-hot flash overwhelmed them. Next to fade was her hearing, reduced to ringing before fading to nothingness as the endless crackling of flames roared. Then, finally, before she fully lost herself; Heather couldn’t feel the flames caressing her body anymore. Everything faded so very quickly, one by one her senses were lost, conscious thought became impossible and movement even more so.

That was, until a very familiar sound breached the young girl’s ears and seemed to rouse her from some kind of sleep.

“Purrpurr! Breakfast, come on, I made your favourite!”

Before Heather could even process the sound, she felt something surrounding her; far softer and stiller than the flickering flames had been. She was on her back, completely flat; this wasn’t just very familiar sensation, it was a very familiar turn of events. That was her dad’s voice, he’d let out calls like that every single morning. 

Yellow eyes flickered open only to reveal a familiar ceiling; Heather attempted to sit up straight, only to find that a meticulously tucked duvet was in her way. She was in the palace, she was in her bedroom, surrounded on all sides by her green painted walls! She glanced down at herself, patting her body. She was in the clothes she’d been wearing yesterday, though her jacket had been taken from her shoulders and hung on the wall and a quick glance proved that her shoes were just beside them. There were no burns on her clothes, none that she could see or feel at least, and as she forced herself to rise, Heather could feel no soreness. The flames hadn’t hurt her, it was as though they’d hardly even touched her… had that all been a dream?

She stumbled to her feet, another glance about herself showed no proof that the past day had happened beyond the fact that she was in bed, fully dressed. Had she fallen asleep in the middle of her task? She rushed across the room and rummaged through her pocket; her friends’ messages in their group chat caught her eye but the date even more so. It was Wednesday, her parents had left on Tuesday morning; a day had passed, it couldn’t have all been a dream! She sent off a quick apology for her absence and a promise that she was okay before returning her phone to her pocket and, hurriedly, making her way out and into the hall. 

It only took three paces towards the staircase for her to notice something was off, there was a bizarre smell in the air; not exactly bad but ever so slightly smoky. It didn’t smell like burning food either, it was more of a fragrance than anything else. She cast a glance back the way she came and around five metres back, on the wall opposite her own room but a good metre down from it, was a door she did not recognise. Or, well, a rather peculiar absence of a door. The usual wooden structure that she had thoroughly ignored for her whole life, thinking it just one palace’s many pointless rooms, had been replaced with thoroughly beaded strings that hung almost all the way to the floor. The scent was surely coming from that room, had a visitor with some extremely peculiar demands been given lodging?

“Heather? Is everything alright?”

“I’m coming, stop shouting, I’m coming!” She insisted back, pulling her attention from that bizarre doorway and making her way towards the stairs. Regardless of who it was, she assumed that her parents would tell her and knew that it would be rude to try and peer through the curtain. 

Soon the scent of bizarre herbs was replaced by more traditional morning scents, that of eggs and other foodstuffs. Given the ludicrous size of the royal dining room, they’d opted to move a smaller table into the castle’s overly large kitchen to act as more of a family dining area; a round table with three seats. As Heather pushed into the room, her eyes immediately landed upon her beaming father at work on the hob, clad in his regular cyan apron. For that reason, rather immediately her eyes, raced to try and meet with her mother at the dinner table. The purple feline was in her usual place but, before Heather’s eyes could affix on her, they jumped to a sight that almost made the younger cat lose her footing. There were four chairs at the breakfast table, the visitor had joined them, but the visitor had an appearance that Heather could only describe as familial.

“Ah! Dearest sister, I foresaw your arrival in my last dream,” The figure proclaimed as she closed her eyes, raised her arms and curled her finger in an almost hypnotic motion. As she did so, a pair of elaborate red symbols pulsed on her hands, “Your rest was fitful last night, was it not? You had a dream that you cannot explain?”

Heather immediately turned to her mother, but the older cat was entirely nonplussed, “Good morning, Heather. I hope it wasn’t actually, the pile we found you both in looked especially uncomfortable.”

“I’m sorry we were so late last night, it turns out there’s quite a bit more work the reports suggested,” Dad grinned as he walked past, hovering a plate in front of mum before bending down for a kiss. After that, a plate of pancakes and a small pitcher of syrup were placed at her seat. A seat that was directly opposite this intruder, “It was nice to see you two getting along so well though, I don’t think I’ve seen you snuggling like that in years.”

“Y-You put us to bed…?” She managed to mouth, trying not to directly look at the figure.

“Oh, yes,” He affirmed, “It seemed too late for dinner and you both seemed pretty deeply asleep, so I thought it was for the best,” He nonchalantly responded, taking the seat opposite his wife and gesturing to a stack of his own pancakes, “If you’re really hungry, I can just grab something on the good; you can have these too.”

Finally, Heather’s eyes again came to collide with that of this supposed sister of hers. Alike Heather, this figure looked to be a cat though a much fluffier one; her ears and cheeks were fluffy, and her hair seemed to have been styled into some kind of headpiece, adorned with a small, feathered, gold and red ornament. Her fur was closer to a silver or grey than Heather’s washed out purple, though they shared their mother’s stark white muzzle. She was wearing what Heather could only think to describe as a high cut, loose and midriff bearing, short sleeved top with a set of curvy, golden, bangles. What’s more, this feline looked to be older than her but still much younger than mum. She truly did look like their elder child. 

Realising that her family was staring at her, that she was the odd one out, Heather stumbled to the table and took her seat. Her head lowered as she pretended to inspect her food, thoroughly unhungry and truly focused on the girl before her, “No thanks Dad, this’ll be fine.”

“Is everything okay?” He checked, genuine concern in his eyes, “You look a little tense.”

Just coming out and saying that she didn’t have a sister would make her seem crazy, but it was entirely true. Befuddlement overtook Heather and, before she could answer, the stranger began a speech.

“Forgive her father, last night’s spiritual journey has taken a toll on my dear sister. I’m sure her wits will return with time, her will is simply less powerful than mine,” As if to emphasise her point, she stroked both her hands down and along her wrists before raising the right to drag across her forehead as she closed her eyes. That movement of her hand and shining of that symbol raised a spoon to hover in front of her face, cloaked in a red hue, “With time I’m certain she will recover but, for now at least, I beg that you overlook her weariness. To escape this world and one’s mortal form is always elevating but rebinding one’s spirit to their body is so very taxing, especially with the stars aligned as they are. Be proud of her, please.” 

“Is that so,” Dad seemed entirely unphased by the frankly incredible speech the feline had given, a glance to mum revealed a similarly unreactive expression! “I’m so glad you decided to watch the emeralds together, you two were almost fighting over the position when we left.”

Whatever had happened, whoever this manifested sister was or claimed to be, her parents clearly had memories of her; real or fake. Could the Sol emeralds have done this? She’d never heard anything like it. They were some kind of all-powerful being, appearing to be descended from the guardian and her husband and whom they seemed to know to be that. Her posing and pouting and talking so mystically seemed to be par for the course, simply regular to them. Had they been brainwashed by the Sol emeralds? Why wasn’t she affected, why hadn’t she been made to remember this pale feline?

“My ethereal palace at the centre of the universe is sacred, it was not that I did not want her there but that she could not join me there. From that vantage point, at the heart of all life and nucleus of spiritual activity, I am far better positioned to watch over not only the Sol emeralds, not only our kingdom but all the souls that have and will be,” Her right hand dragged through her hair before coming around to position itself beneath the spoon. With no more than a tap of her middle finger to its end, the metal stalk coiled in upon itself. A broad smirk had overwhelmed the unnamed cat’s face, her gaze now seemed totally focused on the spoon as she elongated its length only to crumple it again, over and over, “Instead of journeying that far and risking the loss of our dear Heather to the cosmic unknowns, I selected a spot far more tenable to one of her stature.”

“Karma, I told you to stop bending those,” The queen, looking up from her omelette, scolded her apparently almighty daughter, “You’ll use that one for the rest of the week, otherwise you’re back to plastic spoons until you show some self-control.”

“That heinous material dampens my astral powers though…” She expanded the now thoroughly battered spoon, plunging it into the bowl in front of her. Within it was what looked to be (but, having observed and heard all she had, Heather doubted to be) plain white rice, “To hold it is a blight upon the soul, it pollutes what is divine…”

So, she had a name, Karma. A name that meant fortune, sometimes thought to be derived from prior states of existence and that deeds done in them. She had such a refined and serious name, far more fitting of the emeralds’ guardian than one as plain as Heather. She spoke so highly of herself and seemed entirely confident in every word she said, as though she already had confidence in her capacity to conduct all the responsibility that the universe had to offer. Had the Sol emeralds deemed her an unworthy guardian and decided to conjure a replacement? That concept, silly as she would have thought it mere moments ago, fell from her brain and sat like a rock in her stomach; she couldn’t bear to look at the pancakes before her.

She threw her dad a glance only to find that his eyes were still on her, the concern was clear; he’d noticed the oddness in her demeanour. Those pancakes really were her favourite, even though she’d often denied it, for her not to surreptitiously nibble was probably looking quite strange. Attempting to dissuade his concerns, she reached for the teapot she’d been too distracted to really notice and poured herself a mug of tea. Without her say, a fast and uncomfortable purr began to bubble from her stomach.

By the time she’d looked up again though, he and mum were exchanging slightly perplexed glances. The hedgehog led the next part of the conversation, “So the repairs are going to take another half day at least, we’ll certainly be home for dinner this time, but we need to get going soon. Are you two going to be okay staying here again? Either of you are free to come if you want…”

“Or both, I can just bring the emeralds with me,” Her mother suggested, making it clear that she’d identified the tension.

Glancing across the table, Heather found that Karma’s eyes were upon her; the supposed older sibling’s lips were curved into a positively goofy grin, almost mocking in its content nature. The youngest feline was thoroughly unsure what she wanted to do, and that look wasn’t helping. Pressured though she was, Heather took a moment to consider what was the most responsible thing to do. Her parents were clearly unaware that something had happened, whether this was the will of the Sol emeralds or something equally bizarre, she had a responsibility to find out more and make sure she wasn’t a threat. But then, equally, if she was going to be around forever then she’d be taking their attention away from her; this could have been one of the few chances she had to be alone with her parents again.

“Purrpurr?” Her dad shifted, his hand had slid across the table to find hers, “Is everything okay?”

Usually she’d bat away his concern, tell him to stop babying her, but now that care seemed a lot more finite; it was being split between two people. She had to get to the bottom of this, “I’m fine dad, geez. I told you to stop using that name,” She turned away, feigning her usual dismissal, “I’ll stay, I want to prove that I deserve this responsibility. I’ve done it once; I can do it again.”

“Well, if you’re sure…” He squeezed her hand just once before letting go, a quick glance proved that the concern still lingered on his muzzle.

“I’ll stay too, there are matters of great cosmic importance that require my immediate attention. If I were to leave them unattended for much longer then the cosmos will fall into disarray, I must continue yesterday’s work,” Various flourishing and wild gestures served to put a spoonful of rice in her mouth as she gave another speech, “If the youngling wishes to join me in this endeavour then I shall keep a watchful eye over her and make certain that she doesn’t fall from grace. I’ll aid in her enlightenment, 

“Perhaps go a little lighter on the enlightenment today, Kami,” It took a moment for Heather to register what he had said. Having eaten no more than one of his pancakes, he pushed his plate towards her. A glance proved that her mother’s plate was empty, they’d eaten quickly and were about to leave, “I’ll make sure that we’re around to hear what you got up to tonight, I’m sure you’ll have plenty of mystical things to tell us about,” Heather was completely blindsided by what the hedgehog did next. He rose from his chair, took one step towards her, and squeezed the older cat’s fluffy cheeks. The content, happy, look on both his and her face sent a shock down her tail, “Be good to your sister please, okay?”

Heather was about to boil over. Kami? She had a nickname, and it wasn’t nearly as childish or demeaning as Purrpurr? What’s more, not only was she a receiver of her father’s softness but she was willing to accept it? Willing to return that contact with frankly reckless abandon, showing no signs of embarrassment as he blatantly babied them? That was the last straw, she was staying here and sorting this! Whoever this intruder was, whether they were some spawn of the Sol emeralds or an actual sister that she had somehow forgotten, Heather was going to find out. This had to have an explanation, there had to be some kind of basis for this.

Jealous, bubbling, purrs began to swell as Heather now found herself struggling to keep a straight face. The nickname she’d fought against time and time again now seemed to be a badge of honour that someone had attempted to sully with their own, mocking, recreation. She seemed older, more confident and more powerful; claiming to be capable of feats that Heather thought inconceivable. This bizarre, flamboyant, figure had somehow snuck itself into her life and taken over what was rightfully hers. It made no sense, what had happened yesterday? Were the emeralds really responsible?

“We can talk about it tonight if you’d prefer,” Her mother offered, putting a halt on Heather’s spite. Having risen from her chair, she stepped behind the younger feline and brought her hand to squeeze her shoulder. That warm contact, somewhat, put her at ease, “In private, I know you and your sister have had friction from time to time. If something’s bothering you then we can talk.”

So, regardless of what had changed, they didn’t get along perfectly. Clearly this was different from usual, their present concern had made that clear, but it’d at least give her an excuse to talk about this if this lasted, “Thanks, mum.” 

Just as her hand left, Silver rounded the table. He was looking down at her, a degree of uncertainty clear on his face. As his hands landed on her shoulders, Heather couldn’t help herself. As embarrassing as it was, the young cat sprung to her feet and managed to return his contact; her arms wrapped behind him as she, very briefly, pulled him in close. 

When she pulled back, his face had gone from anxious to a combination of shock and joy. Heather immediately turned away, “W-We’ll talk later. Have a good day.”

“A-Alright, just call if you have any problems, okay?” He stammered, hands still on her shoulders.

“Fine, dad,” She managed to mumble.

“I’ll race back right away, I promise!” He was gesticulating now, panicking more than a little.

“I-I said, fine! Don’t worry so much,” Heather insisted, fists balling, “Just come back on time this time.”

It took his wife’s arm looping around his to turn him away, even then he kept throwing glances as he used his powers to quickly shuffle crockery into the dishwasher. As the parental pair left the room, though her face was beet red, the eerie silence that followed their departure cut through everything else. Heather slowly turned her attention to the pale feline only to find she wasn’t paying any attention to Heather. Instead, now that no one was around to chastise her, Karma had gone back to twisting and untwisting her spoon and had taken a more relaxed, albeit flashier, pose.

Able to steel herself just enough, Heather surrounded her mug in her green aura and floated it towards herself. As it traced through the air, her aura’s inherent heat brought her tea back to a more salvageable temperature; it began to steam as it floated. This did seem to get the other feline’s attention but, taking her time, Heather took a sip.

By the time her mug had lowered though, the other cat had straightened her spoon and began to happily eat her bowl of seemingly plain rice. 

Frustrated, Heather couldn’t help but glower, “Who are you really?” Karma looked up from her bowl, that bizarrely common smile still worn on her face, “Or, what are you? I’ve lived fifteen years without a sister, I know my own life. We weren’t together yesterday, what have you done to my parents?”

“Ah! You have seen through my cunning ruse! Very well done, you have passed my first trial,” Almost immediately, the opposing cat was on her feet, “Yes, you see, I did not want to cause our supposed parents some great anguish. They believe me to be their daughter alongside you, but the fact is that I, Karma the cat, have travelled here from another world in which I am their only child,” As the kitty flourished, her body carried across the room by red light, Heather couldn’t help but listen. She spoke with such clarity and confidence that it made her ludicrous words sound believable, “My astral projection has allowed me to slip between the dimensional barriers and arrive in your world; not only have I manifested here, but the universe has opted to prostrate itself and accommodated my splendour. Not only did it conjure my bedroom, but made our parents care unto me as their own and believe a rewritten history. It would seem that I have surpassed even my own lofty expectations.”

“That would make some sense, the emeralds were reacting strangely when I saw them last,” Heather hesitated, trying not to let herself be tricked but also having no true answer of her own, “You told me that I had a nightmare last night, are you sure it was a nightmare?” 

“Hmm,” Karma came to land, bringing her forefinger to trace the underside of her chin. Now that she was standing, the difference in their heights and bodies was made all the clearer. She was far more traditionally feminine and a good few inches taller than Heather, “Perhaps to call it a nightmare would be inaccurate, but you befell something strange and terrifying last night, did you not?” 

“Well, yes th-

“Shh,” Without so much as a warning, the larger cat’s open palm was placed on the younger’s head and closed her eyes, “Yes, you had such an experience. Hm, the Sol emeralds were in disarray, just as I forecasted. My powers of divination are growing stronger by the second, it’s no wonder I was drawn to this dimension. There’s such a negative energy and strife within you, it reflects badly upon your future, you are in grave danger…” Her hand shifted, she was now rubbing a circle upon the centre of her forehead, “It’s a good thing I decided to visit and save you then!”

“Save me?” Heather questioned, very much unsure how to react to all this contact but unwilling to really swat the elder away. Her cheeks were tinting crimson and she felt her face boil; clearly, this one took after dad far more than she did.

“Well, I chose to project myself into this dimension for a reason, of course. Nothing is without reason, my dear sister from another world. Obviously, I was drawn to here because I have a duty; to make sure you are prepared for your future and impart the boundless expertise that only an elder sister can grant,” Finally, her hand left Heather as she brought it to meet her left and clap, “Let’s get started! To my divine chamber, brought with me to this brand-new world!”

Just as quickly as her hands had left, Karma snatched up Heather’s wrist and began to lead her from the kitchen; abandoning their breakfast. More than a little lost but, as a result of that, feeling less threatened by the older cat, she opted not to resist her pull. It was only when they’d reached the midway point on the stairs that a thought fought its way into her mind and out through her mouth.

“What about the emeralds, we can’t just leave them,” It sounded like she was whining, surely this borderline adult knew that, “Aren’t we supposed to be watching them?”

Karma brought them both to a sudden halt, rubbing her chin.

“Well, I checked this morning and they’re still within the royal vault. After my arrival last night, it seems that our parents simply returned them,” It was the first relatively normal sentence that Heather had heard from Karma, but it was then followed by, “Though I do not require their ancient energies to fulfil this task, their guidance could be of aid to you! For that reason, let us take a slight detour to retrieve those sacred treasures! I cannot wait to see how you can wield them!”

Regret immediately filled Heather’s gut, taking the place of her earlier realisation. She was practically dragged back down the stairs as Karma brought them to the vault. Once past the door and into the reinforced room, Karma released her sibling’s hand and formed a cross with her forearms, hooking together her thumbs. The emeralds were within their sealed containers, deeply set into the wall.

“Oh powerful Sol Emeralds, it is I, Karma! My sister from your own dimension requires your aid in preventing future catastrophe! Act as a translator between her and those ethereal influences that are plaguing her!” With a long, circular, wave of her hand, the locks securing the stones were undone. Before they could drift into and around the room, they were overtaken by her red aura and made to float in a cluster above her hand.

It was then, with little more than a look of excitement that reminded Heather far too much of her father, that Karma retook her supposed protégé’s hand and resumed her leading. The manner with which the elder had claimed the emerald raised a few questions but, again, her older sister’s confidence in all she was doing was making difficult to question her. She always seemed to know what to say and do, answers flowed from her as if she already had them all. 

Heather was led back up the stairs and down their hallway, straight past her own door. Upon arriving at the bead curtain though, the older cat halted again, releasing the younger cat and raising a finger to tap her chin.

Just a second later, just before Heather could question her, she spun on her heel to face the young feline, “Wait out here, I will call upon you once I have prepared all that we need. I must set the scene for divine intervention, channel the correct energies into our abode!”

Karma, Sol emeralds in tow, vanished inside for a good few minutes, leaving Heather alone with her thoughts. She was, admittedly, getting swept up in the mysterious cat’s bizarre efforts; her confidence and charisma was making it difficult to question her. This Karma seemed to have answers to everything, even if Heather didn’t understand any of those answers. She’d heard about affecting timelines from her dad, but concepts like astral projection and divination were entirely lost on her. Seeing as Karma was an older one of their children though, did that mean Heather would soon acquire these skills? Was it just a matter of time? Well, then again, she was still essentially assuming that Karma was their child, apparently the world had bent to fit her in… would it unbend when she left? Was she going to leave?

Before she could really make any decision or ponder to any kind of conclusion, a muffled yet mewling voice managed to sneak its way into her ear, “Enter my domicile, child. I will now impart upon you all that you need to navigate the unseen terrors of your future!”

Heather’s fists clenched slightly; she finally took a proper look at the beaded curtain. Rather than consistent beads, it was formed of a mishmash of wooden and metal objects that ranged from pendulums and stars and toggled gemstones to more typical triangular wooden buttons and spherical beads. Remembering a quirk that the cat had mentioned, Heather couldn’t help but briefly scan for a plastic piece among the bric-a-brac. Sure enough, not only could she not find any but, surprisingly (considering the mismatched shapes), the curtain made a rather effective barrier. She could tell the interior was lowly lit but, beyond that, she’d have to ent-

“Do not waste my precious time I have left the universe without my guidance to tend you. The cosmos must be missing its almighty medium, left unable to commune its will without its natural mouthpiece. For every moment that passes, a million parallel calamities might rise and dare to contest the great peace!” She called out, indirectly impressing upon Heather that she had an intent to eventually leave. There was truly no threat, she could simply go and learn from a clearly wiser and more confident woman who shared her familial position. The emeralds hadn’t stolen her role, they’d given her an opportunity to better embody it!

She used her right hand to peel back the bead curtain… only to reveal more curtains, this time formed from various throws and blankets which were hung from the ceiling, either alike trestles or freely. Though it was dark, the younger feline could make out a veritable mismatch of patterns and colours; floral swirls, psychedelic blotches, hypnotically patterns and beautifully sewn shapes were all visible, even from the entryway. Not a single wall or window was visible. The change in floor also shocked her, going from hardwood to incredibly plush carpet. That switch also prompted her to look down and discover quite how cluttered the floor was, littered with not just carpets and mats but, more interestingly, thick couch and bedroom pillows; many of them had books, spent incense stands, ornaments and objects set atop them.

Heather had no idea if this room was always like this or, given that Karma was psychic, she had very quickly spruced it up in preparation for this meeting. Regardless, awed at her surroundings, she began to awkwardly wade through the second barrier. Once she’d passed through there, finally, Heather could see some proper light; backlit behind what seemed to the final wall of tapestries and blankets was Karma, her fluffy silhouette unmistakable as it was framed by blue lights.

“Come, child of this dimension, join me in my chamber of enlightenment.”

Unable to gleam anything about her mood or intent, the purple feline hesitantly peeled back a tapestry to reveal her pale counterpart, sat in a meditative position with her eyes closed and hands clasped with her fingers interlocked. The space she was stepping into clearly made up the bulk of the room, throws and blankets formed a lower ceiling, but a large mattress filled the area’s centre and pillows were scattered around it with more specific and specialised trinkets. One of them, that she had to fight not to chuckle at or look upon for too long, consisted of seven twisted spoons arranged in a wide circle atop a spiral patterned pillow. She managed this by catching sight of the seven Sol emeralds, pressed on a larger and more ornate pillow. She was treating them with carefulness and dignity, as a guardian should. Candles lit by blue flames were spread across this internal area, creating a state of lowlight.

Once Heather had stepped fully inside, before a word could tumble from her lips, Karma’s eyes flickered open. Her hands shifted, going palm to palm with the left’s fingers pointed towards her and the right laid across it. Her symbols, like intricate henna tattoos, twinkled before she turned right and dashed her top hand along the lower. With this movement, a billowing burst of blue flames exploded from her hands and traced across the room; licking the tips of some perfectly positioned incense before smothering itself in the air. She turned left and the motion was repeated; again, three pillars of incense were sparked alight before the bright blue flash of flame faded to nothing. Then, the elder sister turned to look at Heather. Before the younger cat could even process it, Karma’s right hand raced across her left and another breath of flame shot so very close. Instead of setting her alight, the fire perished in the air before her and set aflame a final incense pyre. That done, she turned her nose to the sky and reclosed her eyes.

The sudden surge in the aroma of incense brought Heather’s nose to crumple and surely showed on her muzzle but, despite that change in expression, she was thoroughly impressed. Heather’s powers were an unruly combination of her parents’; she could lift things telekinetically, but her grasp imparted a boiling heat on all she touched with it. This child of her parents, hailing from another world, had successfully acquired both of her parents’ powers; Karma could conjure flames and, as was displayed with a slow wave and flourish of her right hand, shift the world through psychokinesis.

From positions across the room, both beneath and atop the various throws and pillows, a scattered deck of cards individually took on a cloak of red light and hovered to her. In a matter of moments, they piled themselves atop her left palm before proceeding to shuffle with little more impetuous than the repeated curling and uncurling of her right forefinger. The deck was far bigger than that of a traditional deck, perhaps even three times what was in a standard card box. Karma looked at total peace, despite her use of flames in what was clearly a very enclosed space and the numerous flourishes that she would freely throw to flavour even the smallest of actions. 

“I have already foreseen all that was, your true past and our present alike, now we shall see all that will be,” She half shouted, half chanted, as the cards began to shuffle not just in terms of order but top, some inverting as they re-entered the deck. It was only as she stopped that her posture slumped, eyes flickering over and meeting with Heather’s. The pale feline’s head tilted before, with a smile and vigour in her voice, she repeatedly smacked a spot on the mattress in front of her, “Well, come on! Take a seat!”

The space was just a little limited, the triangle on incense burners that Karma was sat at the bottom of did only leave some space for Heather in the middle, but she didn’t feel as though she was in a position to complain. Awkwardly stepping onto the low bed and waddling around the incense stand, trying her hardest not to rock it, she managed to reach the central point and drop to sit with her legs crossed. 

Almost immediately, Karma erupted into another speech, “Now that we know that you will be facing trials, set upon you by the cosmos itself, we can try to determine the nature of the calamities you will be facing! Attune yourself with the universe, open your third eye and swell your soul to crush away any hesitation or fear that your heart might be harbouring!” She counted upwards on her fingers; one, two, three, four, five cards fluttered from the deck before slapping themselves face down on the mattress, “Chose three of these cards and, from them, I will determine the challenges you face and harness my extrasensory perception to determine the best course of action!”

Heather tore her eyes from the older feline, who was currently engaging in some form of rhythmic wiggling, and turned her attention to the five choices in front of her. Curiously, despite being of roughly the same size, they all seemed to be from different sets. Some of them were older, weathered by tea stains or folded or torn, while others looked brand new, the laminated backs reflecting the candlelight. After a few moments of consideration, Heather tapped the card on the far right, it had a small crease on its bottom right corner but was otherwise unspoilt, the centre card, which was marked on its bottom right corner by a tea or coffee stain and the card one left of the centre, it had a bizarre puncture hole through its middle.

Karma nodded sagely, flipping the first card. Upon it was a depiction of a white crescent moon on a black background. Beneath the celestial body was the number eighteen, written in ancient numerals. Heather stared at it for a moment, bringing her brows and nose to scrunch. She’d never seen a card like this before, she had no idea what it could mean, but she felt the need to say something or make some kind of impression. A glance was thrown in the Sol emeralds’ direction but, as ever, they seemed entirely unwilling to cooperate with her plight. Looking to Karma, Heather found a small smile on her face; the older cat’s tail was playfully batting back and forth but, the one-time she’d like to have an explanation forced upon her, the pale feline stayed silent.

“Does it mean,” Heather balled her hands against her knees, pausing and staring even more intently at the card, “Because the moon comes out at night, does it mean something’s going to attack me in the night?”

“Oh, dear sister, you are thinking far to limitedly! Seeing with your eyes, thinking with your mind, not stretching your soul in the least. Forget the physical, embrace the spiritual, the truth is present within you; I can see it, the emeralds can see it, you must simply manifest it! Channel your inner self, forget your plain self; our psychic powers are proof enough of our divine potential. You must simply let it out!” Heather proceeded to stare at the card again, taking what felt like hours but could be minutes. Eventually, a red aura snatched it from before her; it now spun on Karma’s fingertip, “Look at the moon in this sky, isn’t it so alone? The sky around it is dark yet entirely without stars, those glistening wonders that one might read to discover other untold truths! Think of the moon as you, central to all the cosmos yet in a void of nothing, what does the lack of stars suggest about your future?”

“There… being no one around me?” It clicked, “That I’ll be alone! Does this mean that I’ll finally have more responsibility, that I’ll have to work alone?”

“Exactly! Not only will I leave you with time but, in time, you will have to do more and more on your own! Your spiritual questing will take you to a place you cannot bring others; have you perform tasks and make decisions without the aid of family or friends,” Her finger left the card but it still hung in the air, the lowlight of her blue-flame candles entirely contrasting the red of her psychic aura. Every third or fourth word from her mouth seemed to have an assigned gesture or come with some kind of quirk in movement, they were so hard to keep up with but Heather was thoroughly enamoured, “Though you might long for responsibility now, the loneliness that comes with it will bring you a great deal of strife. This is why spiritual learning is so important, you must be able to commune with forces across your universe and foretell truths that others cannot! Embracing your astral self will eliminate this issue, it’ll make it such that you are never a moon hanging alone in an empty sky!”

Given the monochromatic nature of the card, Heather hadn’t even considered that the moon was against a black sky. A lot of what Karma was saying made sense, Heather was getting older and the responsibility she sought was becoming more of an inevitability, but she hadn’t really considered how the pressure of responsibility might affect her. She’d been so busy clamouring for responsibility that, as yesterday had essentially shown, when she had it, she didn’t quite understand what to do with it. She’d sat still for hours, not intending to eat or sleep, with her parents even arriving late; there was no way she’d have been able to endure. Then again, while some parts of Karma’s explanation made sense, she had no idea where to start with her solution.

“How do I do that? You make it sound so easy,” Heather questioned, “I don’t know anything about souls or spirits or… cosmic energies?”

“Daily meditation is key, consistently tempering and growing one’s soul to the true height of its potential! Surrounding oneself with treasured items and relics can help too, their energy will naturally ebb and flow into all that surrounds them!” As if to illustrate this point, Karma had her arms perform simultaneous flowing motions, “Once your spiritual self outgrows your body, you’ll be able to extend your influence beyond it. Perhaps, when your much older, your essence will outgrow the confines of your universe, just like mine has!”

“I’ve never meditated before, my spirit must be tiny,” The purple cat conceded, “How do I even… go about doing it?”

“Oh! Meditating is easy, you just sit yourself still and focus on the cosmic energies flowing around you; putting yourself in a prime position to receive and transmit spiritual messages,” The first half of that explanation seemed doable, the second half far less so, “Once you’ve got it down you can move onto yoga, strengthening the soul and body together bolsters the growth of both,” It was at this point that Karma seemed to notice the perplexed grimaced on Heather’s face. The older feline’s shoulders relaxed, her hands found her knees and back straightened, “Come on, I’ll show you. You’re already in the right position,” The white cat’s eyes closed, she breathed a deep breath through her nose and gently blew out a long exhale, “Now, just like me. Close your eyes and open your mind to past, present and future; conduct their energy through your very being.” 

Heather immediately assumed the position, stiffening her back and letting her eyes close... but, beyond that, she had no idea what to do. In all of her readings and study, through all her talks with her mother and father, she’d not once heard of any of this. There’d been no meditation practice, no books on spiritual or cosmic energies and, most certainly, no talk of yoga. Her mother had done ballet as a child, did that yield similar results? Apparently, it was about nurturing and empowering both body and mind as one rather than the actual activity itself. How was she supposed to open her mind and conduct energy? Was she just supposed to think abou-

“Oh yes, I can feel the spirits now, they are among us! Powerful essences are drifting through my being, imparting upon me the ancient wisdoms that will arise in this next cycle,” Heather’s eyes shot open.

Karma was sat with her eyes still closed, a content smile on her face. Every so often her tattoos would pulse, unleashing a ripple of red light with no discernible cause. In the wake of her shouting she had begun to hum, bobbing and weaving her head from side to side. She looked entirely content, as if she was succeeding in her endeavour. Heather tried to close her eyes and focus again but, finding she heard or felt nothing, her eyes reopened to stare at the pillow with the Sol emeralds sat atop it. The seven stones seemed entirely uncaring about their endeavours but, admittedly, Karma had said she didn’t need them. But, then again, did that imply that they could be used to help?

The elder cat only seemed to stop, cracking an eye open, when she seemed to notice that Heather hadn’t joined her in humming. Karma’s face fell for just a moment, almost bordering on a pout, before springing into a manic grin, “Here is the most basic proof of my cosmic wisdom! Your next card is the queen of diamonds!”

She sprung out of her meditative pose, throwing her hand forward and flipping the card with a wave of red psychic energy. The candlelight flickered in response to the force but, once Heather’s vision had adjusted, she found that her sister was correct. It was a typical queen of diamonds card, slightly spoiled at its corner. It was rather bizarre, considering the prior card’s more blatantly occult nature, assumedly the many decks of different sorts had gone into Karma’s composite one. The moment that Heather laid eyes upon the picture, she had an idea of what it might mean.

Heather hazarded a guess, “It’s the queen of diamonds; so, if the diamonds are the Sol emeralds… does this represent my mum?”

“Ah, so some of the energies did penetrate your subconscious! Very good, why do you think you drew her from the deck?” Karma questioned, her smile growing even wider.

“I’m not sure,” Heather admitted, briefly breaking their shared stare but quickly reclaiming it, “I want to make her proud of me, I want her to give me more responsibility, could that be what the card represents?”

“Very well done! You’re oh so very close!” She didn’t use her powers this time, instead holding the card between her forefinger and thumb, “The suit is that of diamonds, if it was just about your relationship then it would surely be the queen of hearts. The forces have whispered to me and signalled that the Sol emeralds themselves will cause the unease between you two.”

Heather considered that, focusing on the card and thinking as hard as she could. It didn’t seem impossible, it didn’t even seem unlikely; both of her parents had tried to keep her from responsibility, promising it to her when she was older and asking that she enjoy her childhood, but, while dad relented when she insisted, mum was difficult to persuade. The queen was the biggest barrier between Heather and the responsibility that she desired, the responsibility that came with being the Sol emeralds’ guardian.

“I think that makes sense,” She mused, still half mulling it over, “But how can I fix that? It’s not like working alone, I can’t just train this problem away. It’s personal,” Her right hand clutched at her left elbow, her vision dropped, “I know my mother wants what’s best, dad certainly does too, but what I want is to be depended on. They’re making things too easy for me.”

A repeated, light, tutting began to sound from in front of her, “You saw so far, but not nearly far enough. You still have so much to learn,” The larger cat began another speech, “If you prove yourself to be worthy then responsibility will be thrust upon you, the universe will impart responsibilities upon you. Take me for example,” Her hand came to her clavicle, she was smiling with pride, “I am the centre of my universe, the enlightened soul that acts as a beacon for all life. People come to me with problems and I help them, I give them insight or use my cosmic powers to better their lives! Through the honing of my mystic potential, I have forced myself into a position of duty. They cannot help but rely upon me, I am so very needed on a universal scale. You must temper yourself, make yourself deserving of these things, you cannot simply force it.”

The weight had returned to Heather’s gut. After a few more moments of pouting, some words stumbled free from her lips, “I didn’t feel anything when I meditated earlier, was I doing it wrong?”

Karma let out a hum as Heather’s head lowered, her last expression a thoughtful pout as she brushed her tufty cheeks. Before she could have much time to mope or think, there was a flash of red just beyond the younger feline’s vision. Before she could really question it, something slipped over her head and came to rest on the back of her neck; Karma’s closed fist, holding something attached to a thin but coarse rope, entered her vision. Naturally surprised, Heather looked up only for Karma’s hands to shift and plant down on her shoulders.

“Relics and trinkets can help; they’ll allow you to unlock more power subconsciously. I can’t part with all of my treasures, but I’ll bestow upon you…” Karma’s face twisted for a moment as she hesitated and struggled with the name, Heather glanced down to the centrepiece of the necklace she’d been adorned with. It a metal sun of some sort, dirty bronze in colouration, with eight flame tendrils billowing out from it and a peaceful face at its centre, “The Mark of True Insight, an ancient keepsake that once belonged to a powerful oracle. I salvaged it from a Babylonian ruin on the far side of the world, having sensed it calling to me many moons prior.” 

“Th-Thank you?” She stammered.

“Wear it for as long as you feel you have to, only you will know when its use is spent,” Before Heather could question that, Karma’s right hand shifted to top Heather’s head and push down her vision, “Now, let’s try again. Work with me, you can do it, reflect on the universe around you and learn its many secrets! Channel that energy and tell me what your next card is!” It took her a moment to process but, eventually, Heather took the meditative pose, “Are your eyes shut?”

“Yes,” She truthfully replied.

“Focus on the talisman, picture it in your mind, give it all of your attention and break down the walls between its spiritual essence and your own!” The supposed sage demanded, speaking with her usual overoptimistic whimsy.

And so, Heather attempted to meditate once again. Picturing the joyful, serene, face of the bizarre pendant in her mind, she tried to open her perception to anything else in her vicinity; some kind of noise, some kind of vision, some kind of contact. The only thing she could sense was the still overwhelming fragrance of incense and her elder’s palm atop her head. She tried to hum, attempting to drown out the awkward silence, but the sound came out raspy and hesitant. This wasn’t working.

“That’s it child, keep going! I can feel you doing it. Yes, yes! Your spiritual energy is flowing free,” Karma promised, contrasting Heather’s internal monologue. 

Heather’s eyes flickered open, but she kept humming, trying to save face. With the eyes to the floor, she plainly saw as a tattooed hand reached down and picked up the final card; the black backed rectangle with a puncture hole through its centre. Heather was certain that meant judgement was on the horizon, she was about to be asked about the card’s depiction. 

Her humming stopped, and she quickly raised her head, “I’m sorry Karma, I couldn’t see it.”

“A-Ah,” The feline stammered for the first time since Heather had laid eyes on her, Karma’s hypnotic movements at first looked to be a fast fumble before her grin returned and she leant back, taking a lounging position, “W-Well, in this case, I think that’s quite alright. This is a rather mysterious card, a difficult one to discern with a rather personal meaning.”

The source of her attempted divination coated itself in a red aura, fluttering through the air to land again at Heather’s knees; face up, it appeared to be a series of black splotches on a white background. It was roughly symmetrical, it looked like someone had thrown ink blotches onto a white card, folded it symmetrically and punched a hole through its centre. A large circular blotch engulfed the hole and, surrounding it, were small lines that shot off and faded in every direction. 

“What… is it? I don’t know what I’m looking at,” Heather couldn’t help but tilt her head.

“Exactly the point, it is a card that’s nature depends on the beholder. Different people will take away different things from that inkblot, what do you see?” Karma honestly asked.

The young psychic took in the card again, mulling it over for a few moments. To be honest, it didn’t look like much of anything to her but, at a stretch, “It could be an explosion? A blast of some sort?”

“An explosion…” She hummed, “I don’t really see that, but if that’s what you see then that’s what you see! Now, what could that mean? These ones are always just a little tricky, I can’t impart their knowledge on others; people have to derive it for themselves.”

Grasping her new talisman, Heather squinted harder at the card. It could have been literal, but the prior readings had suggested otherwise. What could an explosion represent? Anger? But she wasn’t angry at anyone. This was meant to represent a trial in her future, she didn’t think that she had any tenuous emotions to control. Had anything exploded recently? What-

Something had exploded recently. Very recently. 

“I’m going to struggle to master control over the Sol emeralds, I think that’s what it means,” Karma’s ears perked up but the realisation had slugged Heather in the gut, “All that happened last night, the emeralds caught fire and engulfed me within a sphere. I think that’s what this is. The circle is what trapped me and the lines are the flames and embers blasting off of it,” Heather threw a glance to the emeralds themselves, those which had sat entirely unmoving for this entire endeavour and offered no guidance, “I’ve got so much still to learn.”

Rather quickly, Heather found herself caught in a vice like grip that, though she didn’t try to resist, she knew she couldn’t break, “Well, now you know how you should build and mature yourself. You’ve got tons of time my dear, and a universe filled with possibility!” The taller feline pulled back; their eyes met. Even with the disappointment still brewing in her chest, the sudden contact was thoroughly embarrassing. Despite the redness on Heather’s face, Karma went on, “Maybe you aren’t as naturally spiritual as me, but I’m certain you’ll get better with time! This is your future, not your present, you’ve still got time to attune yourself! My divine intervention has simply made so that you know what to anticipate. Begin your training, learn to master your spirit, you have the power deep within you!”

“I suppose that’s true,” Heather managed to sigh, prickled slightly red by contact but enduring, “I don’t know when these issues will arise but… as much as I don’t want to admit it, I’m still young.”

“Exactly! Amassing these powers takes time,” Karma insisted before quickly changing the conversation, “Now, let’s do something fun. This palace is quite like my own home, but I know one room that while be especially different.”

It took her a moment to put two and two together, “You want to see my bedroom?”

“Actually, I have already foreseen the entirety of your bedroom; there are some curious matters beyond your door which have drawn the attention of my third eye,” Karma explained in a fashion that Heather was becoming bizarrely desensitised to, pulling back ever so slightly, “The universe should hold for a few scant moment without my attention; during our time together I have foreseen how time will ebb and flow, and have determined that all will be well. So, if you would lead me?”

Heather gave it a moment before, awkwardly, answering, “You’ll need to let me go first…” 

“A-Ah, yes! Of course!” The older cat pulled back fluttering her hands and using her psychic powers to gradually smother the various candles and incense towers that surrounded them. 

Heather awkwardly rose from the bed, stumbling a little atop her squishy mattress, and began to push her way through the various curtains. The bright light of the hallway was almost blinding but, sure enough, Karma followed her out and free; stretching and flourishing as she left the room.

“Ah, yes, my spiritual energies feel restored. I’m ready for some more fun, let’s see what your room has in store!” That hadn’t been fun for her? She seemed to have thoroughly enjoyed the entire prediction, “I can’t wait to see it with my eyes rather than my mind!”

Unsure why the older cat was so excited for what was a very plain room, Heather pushed open her door and waved Karma inside. The room was tidy, its mauve carpet spotless and numerous bookshelves neatly filled. Her desk was nearly laid with jotters and notebooks, her walk in wardrobe was surely internally neat and there were a few boxes stashed beneath her bed. 

Despite how plain the whole space was, Karma was thoroughly marvelling at it; she’d taken her chin between her thumb and forefinger, stroking it while she paced in a wide circle. It was only as Heather closed the door behind them that something seriously caught her eye though. Without a word or even blinking; Karma rushed past the younger feline, tugged her jacket from its hanger and garbed herself in it. The dark green bomber coat was usually just a little big for Heather so, while it didn’t remotely match Karma’s top or haram pants, it sat on her shoulders perfectly.

Granted, Heather wasn’t really considering that as her cheeks flared and her jaw hung agape, “W-What are you doing?”

Karma popped the jacket’s collar, throwing the youth a look that could only be described as smug, “Blending in. Being in a new dimension means I need to take on new fashion, this looks very trendy.”

Her older sister then proceeded to walk across the room, a certain bounce in her stride that hadn’t been before. Having never encountered this kind of interaction, Heather didn’t have any idea how to react outside simply watching as she made her way over to the room’s desk and started to rummage through a drawer. She’d mentioned some curious matters that required her attention, were these them?

“Are you looking for something specifi-

“How do I look?” Having searched through the drawers, Heather had uncovered a set of black sunglasses and popped them on in an attempt to create some kind of tough-guy look.

Having never really given compliments, especially not under this kind of pressure, Heather stammered, “N-Neat, I guess?” She shook herself out of her stupidity, “Are these the objects that were drawing your attention?”

“Hmm,” Karma threw her arms out, letting her tattoos flare as she cast various symbols into the air. Coming to a sudden stop, she shrugged massively, “Nope! I don’t think so.”

“I see…” Before Heather could pry further, Karma was rummaging again; digging through the drawers beneath her bed.

“If you ever find the power to visit my world then you can try on some of my garbs. In fact, I believe they’ll help to heighten your spiritual learning even further! They’ve been around me for so long, my spiritual energy has undoubtedly woven itself into the stitching. A few weeks wearing them, and you’ll be much stronger,” Heather suggested then promised as she searched through folded jeans in vain.

Heather looked the older feline up and down one more time. She hadn’t really considered it until now but while their shoulder span and many proportions were similar, Karma was rather curvier than Heather; this meant that, while she filled out that top comfortably, Heather was certain wearing such a shirt would only end in disappointment and embarrassment. Even if she didn’t know anyone in her dimension, the thought of wearing that in public bordered on surreal.

“I-I think I’ll be okay, I’m glad you like them,” Heather edged a little closer, looking over the older psychic’s shoulder, “What are you actually looking for?”

“I’m not entirely sure but, apparently, you have a very well-guarded secret in here. I’ve not quite had enough time to home in on this universe’s flavour of energy, things that people are trying to hide are always harder to derive,” Karma enthusiastically explained, switching box, “There’s at least one object tied to it, in here somewhere…”

It took a moment of pondering, Heather really didn’t have any secrets that she thought could be cosmically important, but there was one, rather embarrassing, thing that came to mind. She awkwardly shuffled to her walk-in wardrobe, dragged the door open and wandered her way towards the back. It wasn’t giant, only a couple meters deep, but there was a shelf on the back where she kept most of her sports paraphernalia. On the ground beneath it was a set of hockey pads, once they were pulled back; Heather’s secret was revealed. Stashed beneath the armour were two boxes, unremarkable and brown with their dimensions no larger than an average pencil case. She picked them up, face surely glowing fully red, and carried them out; Karma was already waiting for her.

“I-It’s childish that I have these, let alone hide them, but they make me seem so immature…” She held out the left box, her older sister took it and immediately opened the top.

Within the box was a white paper bag and within that, rather than anything more nefarious, were roughly thirty raspberry bonbons. Heather flicked open the remaining box, revealing it was entirely filled with the same candy. These were sweets she’d bought on her own and hid from her parents, not because they wouldn’t let her have them but because she didn’t want them to know she had them. Liking sweets was a childish thing after all, irresponsible too as due to their impact on health.

“Oh,” Karma’s face fell, “Really? That’s it? Your biggest secret is just some sweets?”

“Yes,” Closing her box and avoiding Karma’s eye, “Yes, it is.”

“What’s that noise?” Heather’s face was growing hotter by the moment, explosive purrs were breaking through her chest, “W-Wow, are you okay? You look like you’re burning up, has doing this unlocked some kind of massive spiritual energy?”

“I’m fine,” She huffed, right fist tightening around her box while she reached out with the left, “You can have one if you want, I don’t care, can we please just put them away.”

There was a small shuffling, the sound of crinkling paper, but the box was quickly thrust into Heather’s empty hand. Daring to glance at Karma’s face, the older cat seemed to just be wearing her usual smile; it was like she was constantly half in and half out of her own world. Heather couldn’t even look long enough to determine whether she was eating a bonbon.

“P-Please excuse me,” The younger princess muttered, ducking back into the closet. 

Once she’d reached the back and stashed her sweets, Heather took just a moment for herself. She had a lot to reflect on; the surreal nature of this morning, the emotional roller coaster she’d been on, apparent powers she’d soon unlock and the future trails she was supposed to face, it was a lot to think about.

Unfortunately, she didn’t receive the time she needed to think about all that. An earthquake suddenly tore through the palace, not violent enough to tear Heather from her feet but strong enough to the hanging outfits around her and topple the paraphernalia on the shelf above her. The moment that the shaking stopped, not even taking a moment to reorganise things, Heather rushed out of the closet only to find Karma with her ear pressed up against the bedroom door.

She turned back, finger atop her lips, “Something most bizarre is happening, there are six souls on the other side of this door.”

“Six souls, you mean there are six people out there?” Heather managed to half whisper, tiptoeing her way toward the door, “Th-The Sol emeralds, they’re still in your bedroom. If they’ve come for them then-

“These souls have a very familiar frequency, it’s as though I’ve detected them before,” Karma mused, closing her left eye as she pushed harder against the door, “Perhaps I’ve even been in their presence, how strange…”

“We need to do something, the palace can’t just-

“Ah! Dearest sister, I foresaw your return in my last dream!” That phrase, shouted from the other side of the door, was familiar. No, not just the phrase; the voice it’d been uttered in too. Heather threw a glance to Karma only for her to return it, head slightly tilted.

“Oh, give me a break, now is not the time for your nonsense! I had no idea what had happened to you,” That voice, that cadence, was familiar in an even more bizarre way. It took her a moment to realise, but that was Heather’s own voice.

“What are you talking about? For us to return at the same time, of course this was fated! There was nothing to worry about,” That Karma-like speaker insisted, “Oh! And most humble greetings to you too, otherworldly parents! Our meeting was destined too, of course!”

“Hello, Karma. Well, I assume your name is Karma, you’re clearly not our one thoug…” That was her dad’s voice, that was Silver’s voice! What was going on? “I wonder where she could have got to?”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got an idea. Even if we don’t know where they are, we can at least let them know that we’re here…” That was her mum’s voice now, were more parallel families arriving? What could-

A sudden guitar riff blasted between the two cats, the surprise sent Heather stumbling back and, simultaneously, Karma further against the door. The sound was exploding from the princess’ jacket pocket and it was a sound that younger knew exceptionally well. That was her ringtone, it wasn’t just ringing in monotone; it was ringing in stereo. Her mobile phone was receiving a call from both within her pocket and beyond the door. Shuffling sounded outside the door; footsteps were approaching. A glance to Karma found her fumbling for the phone until, eventually, the small device was presented to Heather. Her mum was calling.

The young feline pressed the green button and the ringing beyond the door ceased, “H-Hello?”

“Heather?” There was a knock at the door, they’d evidently heard the ringing, “Are you in there? Is someone else with you? It’s your mother… your dimensionally correct mother, rather.”

Catching the look on Heather’s face, and likely overhearing the conversation, Karma quickly tugged open the door. There, stood in the doorway, were not only two sets of her parents but a second Karma, beaming as usual, and another version of Heather herself; arms folded and looking away. The resemblance was impossible, that was a face she’d seen in the mirror so many times.

Before she could even question what was going on, both versions of her dad almost crashed into each other as they forced themselves through the doorway to hug their daughters. Given the tightness of space in the entryway, embarrassedly, Heather managed to push her way out and into the hall. She heard Karma and her dad following behind, acting as mushy as she had with her actual father… or at least, the father she’d thought was her actual father? She didn’t have a lot of time to dwell on that though because, besides the sight of her mother, two things more matching things entirely consumed her focus. To the right of her, closer to where she and one of the Silvers had ended up, was a crackling and pulsating orb of fire around two metres high and wide. To her left, further down the hall, there was an orb the exact same, letting off an equally subdued crackle as it pulsated and glowed. It took a moment to click, glancing between two sets of her parents, but those orbs were just like the one that had consumed her yesterday.

“What’s going on? Why are there two of you and…” Heather hesitated, briefly ending up eye-to-eye with her double before the counterpart broke the gaze, “Two of us?”

“I believe that would be our fault,” The other Heather, throwing a grimace at the second Karma, “In this dimension, Karma and I are siblings. When we were guarding the Sol emeralds, just as you two were individually, we had… a bit of a falling out, and the emeralds seemed to react to that. Before we could understand what was happening, we were dragged into a dimensional switch,” A glance to the Blaze beside her prompted a nod, implying this was all true. Heather’s twin pointed to the Karma that Heather had come to know, “I took the place of that version of Karma, while my sister took your place. I assume, your parents quickly noticed the swap and went about investigating the source and reversing it, just as Karma’s did for me.”

“That’d be correct, yes,” Blaze the cat, the one who apparently was her mother, confirmed. It was only now, at this distance, that Karma noticed the bags beneath her parents’ eyes, “Our, well, alternate daughter was exhausted last night, we found her collapsed on the floor and set her up in one of the spare rooms. I began to work with the Sol emeralds even before she awoke but, once she was up and full of energy, we managed to locate this dimension and create a portal to it.”

“Wait so… this isn’t my home universe?” Heather looked to Karma only to find a confused look on her face, her forefinger raised to her lip as though she was deep in thought. Pointing to her and turning to her double, Heather asked, “It didn’t change when she arrived?”

“Why would the world change after she arrived? No, this is our world,” The other Heather answered, looking slightly perturbed, “That portal leads back to yours,” A steely seriousness seemed to be slowly overtaking the girl’s brow, small noises were escaping her chest that Heather could so easily recognise, “I take it that this new Karma tricked my parents into thinking nothing had changed then, that’s why they’re not here…”

Heather tried to look to Karma, only to find that she had bounded over to her own set of parents and began to regale them. The additional Karma, clearly seeing that as more fun than explaining what was going on, had decided to join her. The young feline only found herself growing more confused.

“I guess so… I thought she visited me on purpose,” Heather mumbled, finally managing to shrug off her father’s hold, “She acted like this was so normal.”

The other young princess sighed, folding her arms, “Yeah, she’ll do that. She’ll make up all kinds of tales and stories without thinking about the potential consequences.”

“B-But she talked about powers and divine senses! Astral projection and…” Heather’s parallel self looked at her like she was scum, “She said that she’d predicted that all this would happen.”

“Please don’t tell me you fell for all of her tricks, just like everyone else does?” Her doppelganger grumbled, balling her fists at her sides. Heather couldn’t manage another word as shock and confusion overtook her. Her face undoubtedly transmitted the truth, “Really, you did? Even another version of me can’t resist her façade? Can no one see through her blatant lies?!” She huffed and puffed, growing redder in the face and purring louder and louder. It was a response that Heather recognised; this wasn’t anger, it was embarrassment, “Even my own self, I can’t believe it. Everyone but me!”

“I thought…” It fully clicked, the reason she’d been made to meditate and close her eyes; Karma had attempted to sneak away that final card, identify it, and flip it back over before she could notice. It was as her parents said, the four of them had switched positions as they watched the Sol Emeralds yesterday afternoon; Karma hadn’t come to aid her, she’d made a mistake and been transported.

Heather shot a glare at the jacket wearing version of her elder sister, only to find that she and her dimensional counterpart was still thoroughly regaling their parents. Before she could turn back to her own counterpart, the second Heather had unleashed a snort like groan and pushed her way into her bedroom; slamming the door behind her. Silence overtook the hallway for just a moment, even the pair of Karmas seemed to lose their voice.

The Silver that wasn’t her actual father, but had recently been looking after a version of her, looked a little worried but his matching Blaze set her hand on his shoulder and looked to the unjacketed Karma, “She was panicking about losing you from the moment she woke up. You should probably go and talk to her, Karma.”

“We know you did the same, despite trying to hide it,” Heather’s actual mother reminded the new Karma, “It’s up to you two whether you tell your parents, I know they’d be quite shocked by this, but, regardless of what you both choose to do, I think you two should have a talk and sort things out.”

“Ah, but my…” That Karma went to start a speech but seemed to catch herself, glancing to the door without her usual confidence, “You’re probably right. I’ll… check on her,” She went for the doorknob but, before she could turn it, managed a last hurrah and show of her bizarre bravado, “Thank you, parents from another lifetime! Thank you for granting me such hospitality; your efforts will be paid forward in the form of good future fortune!”

“She’ll be okay,” Heather managed to speak up, catching the Karma’s attention before she could enter. Unfortunately, the purple feline couldn’t hold her stare, “She’s not really angry just… embarrassed.”

The native Karma quickly stepped inside after that and, though no immediate screams or shouts came, Heather was certain that there was a tension of some sort inside that room. The remaining purple princess turned back to face the group, finding that the Karma she’d known was still struggling to meet her eye. So, it was all fake, every word that she’d said, just a series of elaborately stacked lies. It should have been obvious sooner, like when she’d been called out and immediately changed her story, but her faux parents’ willingness to accept her nonsense as regular had played into the lie. Even the fact that she’d never heard of the powers and concepts she’d been describing; they didn’t make sense to her because they didn’t exist.

But, why wasn’t she angry? She was glaring but she was confused and almost a little sad more than anything. 

“Well, I suppose we should get back. Can never be sure how long these portals will hold,” Her dad’s hand had returned to her shoulder, she was certain that he was beaming even though she couldn’t stand to look, “Sorry it took us so long, it was difficult to trace just where you’d ended up.”

“I-It’s fine, I was safe,” She insisted, only to feel her dad’s arms wrap around her centre and pull her into a hug. Similarly, she watched as Karma’s own Silver did the exact same… only the white furred cat was far better at returning his affection.

She watched as Karma’s mother joined the hug and then, at a matching time, felt her own. Not wanting to stare at the object of her confusion any longer, Heather took that as a sign and turned to return her parents grasp. Automatically, her dad’s grip got embarrassingly tighter.

“Well, we worried and missed you,” Her mother informed her, warmth rippling from her body, “We’re so glad you’re okay.”

The hug lasted for a while, assumedly for both parties, but a loud, attention seeking, cough managed to break the huddle and turn Heather around.

“Good fortune to you Heather! You can conquer the challenges ahead of you, I believe in you! Heed my advice and all will go well, you’ll escape the troubles that have plagued you so!” She announced, her frame being swallowed by red light as, before Heather could even get a word in, the Karma drifted past her parents and towards her portal behind them, “I will watch over you from my domain; if you require my aid then simply call upon me! At the nearest juncture, as long as there are no greater perils, I will make myself manifest grant you further guidance! May your clairvoyance guide you well!”

Without a goodbye or the chance to be presented with one, Karma vanished through the flaming vortex. Almost immediately, noticing its consistency begin to waver, her parents waved a fast goodbye and ducked back through the portal too; clearly a little worried about misplacing their daughter again. Once they were through, the ball of flame seemed to collapse in on itself and fade from this reality; that left Heather and her actual parents standing in a close copy of their upper hallway.

“She seemed like a good kid really, even if she was a little more of a handful than you,” Her dad managed to admit, “Certainly very imaginative but, more than that, very cuddly. She seemed to want a lot more attention than you usually do...”

“She…” Heather caught herself before she could rant, an embarrassed heat was beginning to creep over her face, “Takes after you much more than mum.”

“Wh-What? Really?” Her dad stammered, overcoming all his tiredness, “Blaze, did she?”

“It did feel like I was seeing double sometimes,” Her mother seemed to sleepily half chide, before placing a hand on her daughter’s free shoulder, “Let’s go home.”

Despite how scary having the orb form around her had been, seeing it from the outside was substantially less terrifying. As a trio, they stepped in at the same time, passing through the burning portal and arriving in the treasure room. Heather glanced over her shoulder and watched as the flames petered out and the spinning of the emeralds slowed to an inevitable halt. It took little more than a glance from her mother to have the stones return to their containers in the wall and a wave of her father’s hand to seal them in place.

“Heather, are you alright?” He asked, the concern clear in his voice even if she wasn’t looking at his face.

“I’m fine,” Heather said, far from certain that she was.

Her hands came up to touch the talisman around her neck, the artefact that she’d forgotten to return. Was it fake too? Probably, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to take it off for some reason. She stood still, eyes on the carpet beneath her, a little swept up in her thoughts. Though that whole tarot reading was undoubtedly fake, the meditation practice especially, it had given Heather thoughts and had her consider things that she hadn’t prior. Though the prediction of her drawn cards had been false, the prophecies derived from them still seemed like plausible problems she’d have to face. Once she got the responsibility she sought, there would surely be a time when she got that responsibility and it would be isolating; she wouldn’t be able to rely on others as heavily. Her mother was the main barrier to her gaining responsibility, she was plainly worried about her and her inevitable future as the emeralds’ guardian. She’d always stressed that she wanted Heather to live a normal life, or as normal as possible for as long as possible, letting that go was going to be difficult for both the queen and king.

This entire event had arisen because Heather, her parallel self and her false sisters were struggling to tend the Sol emeralds, that was proof enough that she needed more practice controlling them; that was a blatant hurdle in her path, another barrier she’d have to overcome. Even if Karma hadn’t been perfect, even if she wasn’t actually her sister, meeting the older feline had done some good. She was foolish and it was embarrassing to think, but it was true; she’d given Heather a lot to think about and insight to plan around. Even though she’d lied, if she had told the truth and they had panicked, she surely wouldn’t have had nearly as good of a time either. Come to think of it, Karma was probably just as confused as Heather had been; perhaps some kind of latent older sibling role had kicked in once she got down for breakfast and found her parents discussing her younger sibling. Then again, maybe that was thinking too highly of her…

“Are you sure? I know today has probably been a little strange,” Her mother asked further, her hand still upon her daughter’s shoulder.

“Y-Yes I’m…” Blushing, Heather went to ball her hands in her pockets only to find that she wasn’t wearing her coat. Slowly, another realisation dawned upon her, “She took my jacket!”


End file.
